Art History 
Learning Outcomes

Students pursuing a Minor in Art History or a BFA in Art History should be able to demonstrate the following by the time they complete all course requirements:

Communication

• Ability to outline and present orally information found in selected art historical literature. 
• Mastery of art and art history vocabulary, including the language of: 

o visual elements (color, light, line, form, etc.); 

o design and composition (balance, symmetry, style, focal point, emphasis, etc.); 

o media, such as photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc.; 

o visual culture studies.

• Ability to write effectively in a variety of formats, including: 

o comparison/contrast essays; 

o description/analysis papers; and 

o research papers focused on: 

· objects in an art museums; 

· contemporary art, artists and/or art practices; 

· architecture. 

• Ability to create proper bibliographies and references (footnotes and endnotes) using the Chicago Style. 
• Reading knowledge of at least one foreign language, preferably German and French.

Content

• Recognition of the visual characteristics of period and regional styles of major monuments for a variety of cultures including: 

o Non-western, Ancient, European, American, and Contemporary. 

• Knowledge of the history of two or more art media such as 

o Painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking, photography, design and visual culture media. 

Research

• Ability to find information about art, artists and cultures in a variety of places and formats, including: 

o Public art venues, such as museums, galleries, theaters, etc.; 

o Traditional library media, including books, articles and videos found through catalogues and indexes, such as Art Index; 

o Digital library media, including books and articles found through the use of computer search engines, such as Infotrac, and First Search; 

o Non-library sources, such as the World Wide Web and its search engines, such as Google.com.

Critical Thinking

• Ability to analyze the meaning(s) of works of art based on: 

o subject matter, techniques and materials; 

o the biography of the artist; 

o other works of art by the same artist; 

o related works of art by other artists; 

o the artwork’s original context, including social, political and economic contexts; and 

o subsequent contexts 

• Ability to synthesize information (especially thesis statements and topic sentences); 
• Ability to develop ideas through the process of research, prewriting, writing and rewriting; 
• Ability to evaluate assertions and assumptions found in the writing and oral presentations. 

Methodology and Theory

• Awareness of the interrelationships between art and ideas related to: 

o Politics, including propaganda, nationalism and the avant-garde 

o Gender and age 

o Geography and region 

o Ethnicity 

o Economics, including issues of class, patronage and market forces 

o Technology and science 

o Social institutions, including education, religion, government, entertainment, etc. 

• Awareness of different approaches and methods available to art historians as they interpret art and culture, such as: 

o Marxist (political and economic)

o Feminist (gender and age)

o Formalist (non-contextual)

o Biographical

o Psychoanalytic (Freudian, etc)